THE SMWS DISTILLED

You may have noticed that the SMWS bottle doesn’t name the distillery the whisky is from. Due to the nature of single cask whisky, the region or distillery is often not the best indication of what it might taste like. 

We believe the best way to enjoy the whisky is to focus on its flavour and not where it’s from. For that reason, the Society has developed a unique colour-coded flavour profiling system, to help members navigate
our monthly Outturn on the First Friday of every month, and find a whisky best suited to them.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE 
FLAVOUR

The Scotch Malt  Whisky  Society (SMWS) is an international members club that bottles the world’s widest selection of exceptional and rare single cask, single malts for discerning whisky lovers from all corners of the world. 

We like to think of ourselves as unconventional, adventurous – and a lot of fun.

The SMWS was founded in Edinburgh in 1983, and now the Society is firmly established as the world’s foremost malt whisky club and remains truly one of a kind. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is present in 21 countries around the world. SMWS whisky is only  ever bottled from a single cask, at cask strength with no water or colouring added and with no chill filtration. 

Each cask is unique and by definition a limited edition – whisky as the cask intended.

ONE OF A KIND

ESTABLISHED IN

1983

EDINBURGH

THE AVERAGE OUTTURN BOTTLED FROM A SINGLE CASK

225

INTERNATIONAL



CLUB

WE BOTTLE OTHER SINGLE CASK SPIRITS INCLUDING COGNAC, RUM, GIN AND ARMAGNAC

               The roots of the SMWS go back to the 1970s,                      before single malt whisky was fashionable even in           Scotland. A malt whisky enthusiast called Phillip ‘Pip’       Hills drove north from Edinburgh in his Lagonda to purchase a cask of single malt Scotch whisky directly from a distillery. He brought the cask back to Edinburgh in the Lagonda to share with friends.

OUR STORY

The single cask,
single malt was such a revelation that they clubbed together to buy another cask, and then another. By 1983, Pip and his friends had established The Scotch Malt Whisky Society to share their passion for single cask whisky.

EDINBURGH

CRACKING THE CODE

The Society’s dark green bottle is as distinctive and unique as the whisky it contains. The label on each bottle provides essential information about the spirit inside.

THE NAME

Each bottling is given a descriptive name based on its essential flavours and characteristics.

THE CODE

Each bottle of Society whisky carries a bottling code. The first number represents the distillery the whisky is from; the second represents the number of single casks that have been bottled from that distillery. So this bottle shown is the 232nd cask bottled from distillery number 4.

OUTTURN

Unique and limited, SMWS whisky is pure, undiluted, unadulterated cask-strength whisky, and each bottle is drawn directly from a single cask. Each cask may only yield a few hundred bottles or much less – and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.

THE TASTING NOTE

Each bottle also carries a unique whisky Tasting Note, a description of the flavours in store when you delve into the magical malt. A more detailed and expressive Tasting Note is published online on the First Friday of every month.

THE AGE

The SMWS only bottles whisky when it’s ready and bottlings always include an age statement.

DISTILLED

The precise date this precious one-of-a-kind liquid was created.

REGION

Another useful signpost is this indication of the whisky’s origin, without specific reference to its distillery.

CASK

The previous contents of a cask, and the number of times it was used, can tell you a lot about what the whisky will taste like. Society bottles carry the cask type on every bottle.

STRENGTH

The Society’s cask strength whiskies are undiluted for your drinking pleasure, and are sure to pack more of a punch than your average single malt.

The Society’s spiritual home is The Vaults in Leith, in a building erected by the Vintners’ Guild of Edinburgh in 1682, which takes pride of place on the SMWS logo. We also have a venue in the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town at 28 Queen Street, with a Members’ Room, award-winning restaurant The Dining Room and our Kaleidoscope Whisky Bar, which is open to both members and non-members of the Society. 

We have two venues in London, a Members’ Room at 19 Greville Street in Farringdon and our Northcote Road venue in Battersea, which is also open to non-members. 

The Society now has a presence in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and the US. Each branch of the Society  releases regular batches of new whiskies throughout the year and hosts events for members and non-members.

FROM SCOTLAND

TO THE WORLD

The roots of the SMWS go back to the 1970s, before single malt whisky was fashionable even in Scotland. A malt whisky enthusiast called Phillip ‘Pip’      Hills drove north from Edinburgh in his Lagonda to purchase a cask of single malt Scotch whisky directly from a distillery. He brought 
the cask back to 
Edinburgh in the 
Lagonda to share with friends. 

The single cask,
single malt was such a revelation that they clubbed together to buy another cask, and then another. By 1983, Pip and his friends had established The Scotch Malt Whisky Society to share their passion for single cask whisky.

DISTILLERY 1

MEMBERSHIP

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society attracts whisky enthusiasts from all walks of life; from younger members discovering whisky for the first time to experienced connoisseurs. 

The Society’s members may be diverse, but they are all united in an appreciation of the finer things in life and a shared passion for single cask whisky.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

THE SOCIETY HAS VARIETY OF MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS, STARTING FROM £65 A YEAR

USE CODE SMWSTEN AT THE CHECKOUT FOR A 10% SAVING ON ALL MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS

USE CODE SMWSTEN AT THE CHECKOUT FOR A 10% SAVING ON ALL MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS